工程队 (gōng chéng duì) — construction brigade; engineering corps

Definition

noun

construction brigadeengineering corps

Measure word · 支

工程队。
Zhè ge gōng chéng duì fù zé xiū jiàn gāo sù gōng lù.
This engineering corps is responsible for building the highway.
工程队。
gōng chéng duì De gōng rén lái zì quán guó gè dì.
The workers of the construction brigade come from all over the country.
工程队。
Tā men zài shān qū zǔ jiàn le yí gè xīn de gōng chéng duì.
They set up a new engineering corps in the mountainous area.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

工程engineering

偏正Modifier + head

工程 means engineering, and 队 means a team or brigade.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

禾呈程

Meaning part形符xíngfú

禾禾hégrain

Sound part声符shēngfú

呈

Same sound today

程 is made from 禾 (grain) and 呈 (pronounced chéng); the evidence gives measurements.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 隊; 队 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

阜阜fù

Sound part声符shēngfú

㒸

㒸㒸隊duì

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 隊 has 阜 as the meaning part and 㒸 as the sound part.